2020, Vol. 21, No. 2 (81) ISSN 2451-1617 The Evolution of the Holy See’s Institutions for Order in Media Against the Background of Changes in Its System (1948–2018) Wojciech Jakubowski University of Warsaw [email protected] ORCID: 0000-0003-2832-611X ABSTRACT Scientifi c objective: To characterize the genesis of the institutions of the Holy See in the years 1948–2018, competent in media matters, against the background of changes in the Roman Curia’s system; showing the institutional evolution of the “media department”—from the Papal Commission established ad experimentum by the Council, having the status of an expert and promotional dicastery1, to the dicastery with rights analogous to the congregation. Research method: Historical and normative analysis based on papal legislation and the literature on the subject. Results and conclusions: The analysis led to the conclusion that a feature of the changes was the systematic raising of the rank of institutions competent in matters of media and their functional and organizational integration. Cognitive value: The paper addresses the problem of tradition and modernization of the constitution of the Holy See’s primary organs, of which the Curia’s reform project initiated by Pope Francis and implemented since 2014 is a key element. This thread is a relatively new and little recognized subject of scientifi c analysis. KEYWORDS Dicastery for Communications, Roman Curia, Pontifi cal Council for Social Communications, Holy See, Communications 1 Dicastery (Latin: dicasterium)—a group of supreme governing bodies of the Church, composed of various types of institutions (congregations, tribunals, councils, offi ces). 536 Wojciech Jakubowski • The Evolution of the Holy See’s Institutions for Order in Media... The development of civilization, which led to the creation of means of social communication, also resulted in the establishment of institutions of the Holy See, whose task was and is to read the mission of the media in the world in the context of truths of faith and respect for the dignity of a man. These institutions were established more than 70 years ago—their history goes back to the establishment of the Pontifi cal Commission for Religious Films, instituted by Pius XII in 1948, and comes alive with the establishment of the Dicastery for Communication, instituted by Pope Francis in 2018. The teaching of the Magisterium of the Church on the issue of social communication began over a century and a half ago. Already in 1840, Pope Gregory XVI, in the Encyclical, Probe Nostis, wrote with concern about the world fl ooded with “pestilential newspapers and pamphlets of little weight, or by seductive speeches” (BM, 1979). Yet, Pius XII discovered the positive power of mass media for the Church, but the changes resulted from the Councils and the era of “media pope,” St. John Paul II, brought a radical change. It is also worth noting that the history of “papal media,” constituting another and separate research thread, dates back to the second half of the 19th century. The fi rst issue of L’Osservatore Romano—a semi-offi cial newspaper of the Holy See was published on July 1, 1861, during the pontifi cate of Bl. Pius IX. The Vatican Radio Station (Statio Radiophonica Vaticana) has been in operation since 1931, and has been broadcast in Polish since 1938. The great promoter of the development of modern church media was Pope Pius XI—in 1919–1921 the fi rst Apostolic Nuncio in Warsaw after Poland regained its independence. In the last decades of the 20th century, the media of the Holy See have been enriched with the Vatican Television Center (Rescript Ex Audientia, 1983/1998, and professional Internet service 1995/1997). The Concept of the Holy See In accordance with the international law, the Holy See means the Roman Pontiff as supreme authority in the Universal Church. According to can. 331 CIC / 1983: “The bishop of the Roman Church, in whom continues the offi ce given by the Lord uniquely to Peter, the fi rst of the Apostles, and to be transmitted to his successors, is the head of the college of bishops, the Vicar of Christ, and the pastor of the universal Church on earth. By virtue of his offi ce he possesses supreme, full, immediate, and universal ordinary power in the Church, which he is always able to exercise freely.” The Roman Pontiff exercises its authority voluntarily, without any time limits or conditions. The Pope owns all jurisdiction exercised in ancient times by bishops and metropolitans, by synods and general councils. Nowadays, all this power is exercised by the Pope personally or through subordinate Secretariat of State, congregations, tribunals, councils, and offi ces referred to as the Roman Curia (Curia Romana), and over the State of the Vatican City through the Pontifi cal Commission, the Governorate, competent tribunals, and other specialized bodies (CIC, can. 360, 361). In its activity, the Holy See identifi es itself with the Church (Cardinale, 1963), and it is in relation to the Church what form is in relation to matter. The Holy See is therefore the “legal personifi cation of the Church” (Le Fur, 1930, p. 157). The Holy See enjoys a separate legal and international subjectivity as well as the State of the Vatican City (Jakubowski, 2005). According to can. 361 CIC / 1983 “the term Apostolic See or Holy See refers not only to the Roman Pontiff but also to the Secretariat of State, the Council for the Public Affairs of the Church, and other institutes of the Roman Curia.” The Roman Curia is, therefore, an institution through which the Roman Pontiff deals with the affairs of the Universal Church and which performs all other tasks on his behalf and his authority (CIC / 1983, can. 360). It is a very Studia Medioznawcze 2020, Vol. 21, No. 2 (81), pp. 535–553 https://mediastudies.eu 537 Wojciech Jakubowski • The Evolution of the Holy See’s Institutions for Order in Media... complex organism. Its structure was subject to numerous changes carried out by successive popes, wishing to have at their disposal an effi cient instrument enabling them to cope with the huge tasks ahead of them, the number and complexity of which was and is a testimony to the changing times (Sitarz, 2004). Curia Romana Semper Reformanda The establishment of the Roman Curia is associated with the pontifi cate of Sixtus V (the Pope in the years 1585-1590). He established it on the basis of the Apostolic Constitution, Immensa Aeterni Dei, of January 22, 1588—in accordance with the guidelines of the Council of Trent—as an organized institution comprising fi fteen congregations (Del Re, 1998). In this way, the Pope divided the College of Cardinals into many “colleges” consisting of several cardinals, whose competences covered a specifi c fi eld or problem. Only during the pontifi cate of St. Paul VI the appointment of diocesan bishops who did not have a red hat became more and more popular. The formula of the congregation’s activity resembled a government in the secular administration. It should be added that the Roman Curia was then in charge of the Universal Church and it acted as the government of the State of the Church. Roman Curia in the First Half of the 20th Century (Saint Pius X–Saint John XXIII) The fi rst 20th-century reform of the Roman Curia was carried out by St. Pius X (the Apostolic Constitution, Sapienti Consilio, of June 29, 1908) (AAS I, 1909, 7-19). He set out two main goals— separating the administrative and judicial divisions and precisely delimiting the competence of individual dicasteries. For the fi rst time, a division into dicasteries was introduced: congregations, tribunals, and offi ces, giving the congregations key importance in church management. The cessation of the Pope’s temporal power meant that public institutions of the State of the Church and Curia dicasteries dealing with state affairs were suspended or survived to a minimal extent, drastically limiting their activities. The Curia still administered the unoccupied area of the proper Vatican City and the temporal patrimony of the Holy See and the State of the Church, which the Italian government did not take over (since 1870, Popes—Blessed Pius IX, Leo XIII, Saint Pius X, and Benedict XV—they called themselves “the prisoners in / of the Vatican”). For this, however, the former state administration apparatus, which was over-dimensioned and organizationally complicated, was no longer needed (Jakubowski and Solarczyk, 2002). After the reorganization of the Curia by Pius X (SC), it included: • congregations: Congregation of the Holy Offi ce (Congregatio Sancti Offi cii), Congregation of the Consistory (Congregatio Consistorialis), Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments (Congregatio de Disciplina Sacramentorum), Congregation of the Council (Congregatio Concilii), Congregation of Orders (Congregatio Negotiis Religiosorum Sodalium praeposita), Congregation for the Propagation of Faith (Congregatio de Propaganda Fide), Index Congregation (Congregatio Indicis), Congregation of Sacred Rites (Congregatio Sacrorum Rituum), Congregation of Ceremonies (Congregatio Ceremonialis), Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs (Congregatio pro Negotiis ecclesiasticis extraordinariis), Congregation for Religious Studies (Congregatio Studium); • tribunals: Apostolic Penitentiary (Sacra Poenitentiaria), Roman Rota (Sacra Romana Rota), Apostolic Signatura (Signatura Apostolica); • offi ces: Chancellery of the Apostles (Cancellaria Apostolica), Apostolic Dataria (Dataria Studia Medioznawcze 2020, Vol. 21, No. 2 (81), pp. 535–553 https://mediastudies.eu 538 Wojciech Jakubowski • The Evolution of the Holy See’s Institutions for Order in Media... Apostolica), Apostolic Camera (Camera Apostolica), Secretariat of State (Secretaria Status), Secretariat of Briefs to Princes and Latin Letters (Secretaria Brevium ad Principes et Epistolarum latinarum). The reform of Saint Pius X was sanctioned and supplemented by the Code of Canon Law (CIC / 1917), promulgated by Benedict XV in 1917 (the so-called Pio-Benedictine Code), and remained unchanged until 1967.